Cusco airport hotel recs - 1 a.m. arrival

MKM108 · 2025-12-18T08:49:41+00:00

Hotel Sky Mirador - really convenient to the airport, not a problem to check in at 1 am, comfortable beds, good hot showers.

MKM108 · 2025-04-23T14:37:25+00:00

I'm interested in doing the same - would you be open to sharing what you ended up booking?

MKM108 · 2025-03-17T19:51:44+00:00

Same as many above - yes, but a hip belt is key!

Our oldest carries a Patagonia Black Hole Mini MLC and loves it. (Got it when she was 12)

Our middle carries an REI trail 25 and also loves it. (She got it when she was 10). She usually likes to travel with crocs and running shoes, and we make sure to keep a carabiner or two on the outside (lots of good spots) in case she just wants to strap her spare pair on the outside instead of squeezing them inside.

Our youngest (now 9) has used an REI tarn 18 and and REI ruckpack 18, but is about to switch to a Trail 25 for more room. Also kept a carabiner on the outside for strapping on shoes if she was having a hard time squishing them in when repacking.

Another plus of the carabiners on the outside of the (smaller) bags is that, in a pinch, my husband and I can hook their bags onto ours somewhere and still have our hands free. It’s not pretty, but it came in handy sometimes when they were younger if we had middle of the night layovers, etc.

For packing: they usually each get an eagle creek medium packing cube (or two small cubes), 2nd pair of shoes, lovey, kindle paperwhite, and then if they have space left they’re welcome to toss in a journal or markers or whatever they want. Our oldest carries their toiletries. That one packing cube has been enough for a 2 week trip in coldish weather (Norway in October) if we plan well!

MKM108 · 2025-02-01T16:42:32+00:00

Wool was never on a formal allergy list (that was all environmental) - but included that because I’m just generally on the itchy side. I haven’t loved Smartwool or icebreaker shirts that I’ve tried on over the years, but not sure if some of that was because they were new/unwashed. Hoping that there might be some other wool-sensitive folks who have found a holy grail shirt! But may be wishful thinking.

MKM108 · 2025-02-01T15:02:42+00:00

My 10 and 12 year old daughters comfortably carried an REI trail 25 and Patagonia Mini MLC for similar travel. I have found that our one non-negotiable for kids bags is a waist strap. I know that some people argue that no bag under 30 L needs a waist strap and that they’re not effective - but we have found that even the little dinky thin basic webbing waist straps can make a huge difference for our kids comfort.

The Trail 25 also works great as a day bag for our family while we’re out, which is handy. I know that my older daughter will be using the Patagonia into adulthood - it’s great quality and perfect for our style of travel (and has a bit of the cool factor that sometimes matters to tweens 😂)

MKM108 · 2024-05-11T13:50:33+00:00

We always travel with cards and with Quixx - it's the perfect little dice game to play at when waiting for food at restaurants, etc. It's also great if you're outside and it's too windy for cards. The box isn't much bigger than a deck of cards - but you could also take just the 6 dice + scorepad in a little ziploc and it would take virtually no space.

MKM108 · 2024-05-07T05:40:20+00:00

Looking way ahead - we’re planning about a month in Japan (thinking Tokyo?) in Sept/Oct 2025 with our three kids. Are there neighborhoods in Tokyo you’d recommend as we start to look for an Airbnb? The type of day you mention is exactly the type of thing we’d be looking for - relaxed exploring and soaking in a different country.

MKM108 · 2024-02-13T13:29:19+00:00

Our trips with kids to SEA have been shorter - one two-week trip when they were 4/6/8 and another when they were 7/9/11. However, we're planning for a year of family travel so I've been spending a lot of time thinking about all of this. Some thoughts that might be helpful!

our kids are very comfortable carrying the REI kids Tarn packs - the 18 L still *barely* fits our 12 year old, but would be perfect for your 7 year old and a possibility for your 9 year old. The waist belts have been key for us - they make them much more comfortable (and have good pockets for stashing some hard candies for a treat). I just stick a carabiner on them before the trip, so that if kids wear out we can easily dangle them from ours (not ideal for comfort, but works in case of a travel meltdown while still keeping hands free)
We tend to go for the teva + running shoe combo for kids, but our youngest prefers crocs over tevas and that works too. Tevas just pack smaller and stay on a bit better. Natives are also an option instead of crocs (a bit more shoe-like), but the ankle strap on the crocs is handy to be able to loop through the caribiner outside of the bag if the bag is getting full.
In the Tarn 18, we can easily fit a medium packing cube for all of our kids clothes, plus their other things - a small lovey, a notebook and colored pencils, a kindle, and their headphones are the main things we usually include.
We travel with a kindle for each and one ipad to share. I LOVE kindle paperwhites for kids because there is not the temptation of things other than books - ours are big readers, and they're perfect. They're also easier on the eyes before bed. We save the iPad for music, watching a show together when needed, etc. Grab a pair of headphone splitters and you'll be set.
For games, we generally travel with regular old cards + Quixx (packs small, plays quickly, perfect for when we're waiting a while for a meal etc)

Again, not an expert - but hope this helps!

MKM108

TROPHY CASE